Even when the real estate sector is facing the heat of prevailing liquidity crunch leading to an overhang of inventory and subdued demand, major listed players have done well and beaten industry expectations. “Major listed realty players have continued to gain market share on the back of steady sales momentum and focus on deliveries,” Moody’s investors service company ICRA said on Thursday. In the first quarter of this fiscal, ten large listed companies viz — Ashiana Housing Ltd., Brigade Enterprises Ltd, DLF Limited, Godrej Properties Ltd., Oberoi Realty Ltd, Prestige Estates Projects Ltd, Puravankara Ltd., Peninsula Land Ltd, and Sobha Limited and Omaxe — sold 7.1 million square feet area. This is the highest level of Q1 sales post FY2015. The on-year growth for the listed companies stood at a double-digit 17.5%, even with the headwinds of funding challenges, NBFC slow down and overall weakness in demand.
Large organised players and established brands will continue to capture a bigger market share due to the ongoing consolidation in the residential real estate segment, ICRA said.
This is why listed companies performed well
In real estate, the ticket sizes of around Rs 35-70 lakhs is considered a sweet spot. Explaining the rising trend for affordable and lower ticket size segment, Mahi Agarwal, Assistant Vice President and Associate Head at ICRA, said that an increasing number of developers have acknowledged this trend. They have responded by reconfiguring existing phases and by launching new phases, keeping the demand for lower unit prices in mind. Furthermore, the buyers have shown a strong bias towards completed inventory after witnessing incessant delays in project deliveries.
The demand for product deliveries from the recognized developers, with an established track record of quality and timely delivery, spiked. “Larger and reputed developers with a strong focus on right-pricing and delivery have been benefitting from the same, as is evident from the healthy sales momentum that they have been able to sustain,” Mahi Agarwal added.
